A cake for all seasons

The traditional Sachertorte of Austria reflects the culture of the country and is perfect for this time of year says ANDRY VOSKARIDOU

My aim here was to present one of the most divine chocolate desserts in the world – the finest recipe of the legendary Sachertorte I could get my hands on! And what a better way to achieve that, than to go right to the source: hence I seized the opportunity to visit Vienna in person!

I am one of those travellers that always packs an extra bag just to ensure there’s enough room to return home with desserts and local foods as souvenirs. Experiencing local cuisine is one of the essential parts of travelling because you get to discover the culture or country condensed and savoured in each bite.

And Sachertorte is a reflection of Austrian culture – rich, elegant and refined! My Austria trip was strategically planned around the sweet shops of Vienna and Salzburg, because experiencing Austrian confections is an absolute must for a foodie.

I think it’s safe to assume that the cold weather was one of the key factors that shaped the culture – and by extension, the culinary world of Austria: fine pastries, cakes and an assortment of unique desserts to savour during those long winter days that require a high number of calories.

Indeed, classic and modern Austrian cuisine is world renowned for its variety of such rich desserts and even though their national food is the Viennese ‘Apfelstrudel’ (a dessert of course!), Sachertorte remains one of their finest creations.

We owe the successful creation of the fabulous cake to a 16-year-old novice pastry chef named Franz Sacher. In 1832 Vienna he was asked by wealthy hotel heir Prince Klemens von Metternich to create a dessert for a special occasion as he had to fill in for the official court pastry chef.

The rest is culinary history and the Sacher torte became a dessert enjoyed by many in the rest of the country and worldwide as an Austrian culinary specialty.

When visiting Café Sacher, one of the most popular meeting places in the centre of Vienna, the scents of freshly brewed coffee and aromatic teas blend in perfectly with the baroque buildings and white streets covered in snow – all opposite the grandiose Opera House. After enjoying as many versions of Sachertorte I could get my hands on – from classy restaurants and cafés to street vendors at traditional Christmas Markets – I attempted asking local chefs for any information that would make me get as close as possible to recreating the distinct flavour of the Sachertorte. Regrettably, the original recipe is not only a tightly-kept secret but an official trademark of the Hotel Sacher in Vienna. And, each piece of cake that comes out of their kitchen and served to guests, bares a trademark tiny stamp made of chocolate!

Sachertorte could be simply described as two or three condensed chocolate cake layers, filled and topped with apricot jam (infused with rum), then coated in a thick, fudgy chocolate ganache. What many foodies and tourists anticipate as moist and rich is in fact a dense and somewhat bittersweet dry cake with a light chocolate flavour. The apricot preserve in the cake as well as the rich chocolate glaze around it are key ingredients for the balanced character of the dessert.

In case you are not able to visit Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck or Graz to taste the authentic Sachertorte, you can make your own Sachertorte: a recipe that claims to be as close as possible to the original! Taken from www.sacher.com

Ingredients

130g dark couverture chocolate (min. 55% cocoa content)

1 vanilla Pod

150g softened butter

100g icing sugar

6 eggs

100g caster sugar

140g plain wheat flour

OTHER

200g apricot jam

200g caster sugar

150g dark couverture chocolate (min. 55% cocoa content)

Unsweetened whipped cream to garnish

Preheat oven to 170C. Line the base of a springform with baking paper, grease the sides, and dust with a little flour.

Melt couverture over boiling water. Let cool slightly.

Slit vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Using a hand mixer with whisks, beat the softened butter with the icing sugar and vanilla seeds until bubbles appear.

Separate the eggs. Whisk the egg yolks into the butter mixture one by one. Now gradually add melted couverture chocolate. Beat the egg whites with the castor sugar until stiff, then place on top of the butter and chocolate mixture. Sift the flour over the mixture, then fold in the flour and beaten egg whites.

Transfer the mixture to the springform, smooth the top, and bake in the oven (middle rack) for 10-15 minutes, leaving the oven door a finger’s width ajar. Then close the oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes. (The cake is done when it yields slightly to the touch.)

Remove the cake from the oven and loosen the sides of the springform. Carefully tip the cake onto a cake rack lined with baking paper and let cool for approximately 20 minutes. Then pull off the baking paper, turn the cake over, and leave on rack to cool completely.

Cut the cake in half horizontally. Warm the jam and stir until smooth. Brush the top of both cake halves with the jam and place one on top of the other. Brush the sides with the jam as well.

To make the glaze, put the castor sugar into a saucepan with 125ml water and boil over high heat for approximately 5 minutes. Take the sugar syrup off the stove and leave to cool a little. Coarsely chop the couverture, gradually adding it to the syrup, and stir until it forms a thick liquid, pour over the cake.